Magic Art Blending the Tradition and Innovation in the Sui and Tang Dynasties

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In the Sui and Tang dynasties the magic art made new breakthroughs, especially through communications with India and adoption of some elements from the Western Regions, Chinese magic art boasted a lot of resplendent performances. As the religion prevailed in the Sui and Tang dynasties, the magic art was also utilized by the religious believers to amplify their magic power and expand their religious influences. Thus during this period the magic art assumed a veil of mystery.

Besides”Yu Long Man Yan”,”Swallowing Knife”and “Sprouting Fire”were the traditional magic shows as well. Such shows were performed in the Jiao Fang independently. Originally the acrobatic shows of “Swallowing Knife”and “Sprouting Fire”were transmitted from the Western Regions into China where through a few hundred years’ evolvement they became a part of Chinese traditional acrobatics.

There are two pieces respectively themed on “Dancing with Knives Inserted in the Mouth”and “Sprouting Fire”in the Picture of Xin Xi Gu Yues; the former portrays a man stretching both of his arms with his head upward and seven knives in his mouth; the latter depicts an actor with thick eyebrows and short beard spouting a prolonged flame, with his left arm stretching and his right hand on his waist.

In addition, there were sorts of folk magic shows. The most typical magic show was “sowing the melon seeds”and some other magic shows were characterized of the sleights of hand. The show of “sowing the melon seeds”passed down from the Three Kingdoms Period and improved in the Han dynasty already had a tradition of more than 800 years in China. One book depicts that on the spot a performer named Ma Ziran in the Tang dynasty filled a piece of crockery with soil and sowed the melon seeds, and in a moment vines, flowers and melons came forth subsequently and it is said that the melons tasted more luscious than the common ones. The pure sleights of hand require the performer to be dexterous of hand. The book also describes,”…… The performer fumbled through all his pockets and his socks to dig out uncountable coins which were all tossed into the well, but at the call of the magician the coins would leap out of the wel1”, which is really incredible. Such sleights of hand were superb and systemized. The Autobiography of Lu Wenxue by Lu Yu depicts he himself iscapable of the magic tricks like concealing the balls, which was similar to the “Mud ba1l Show”in the Song dynasty featuring mud balls moving between several bowls. The show”Fairy Man Planting the Pods”later on was evolved from such shows.

In the Tang dynasty many magic tricks were introduced from abroad among which the most famous one was”Xinluoyue Dancing in the Jar”, also known as “Gangxun”, originated from the Korean peninsula. In the Pictures of Xin Xi Gu Yue one picture depicts two short square tables each is topped with a jar-like pot;a man crawls into the pot with his legs remaining outside, while his upper body emerges from theneck of the other pot on the neighboring table and there is a jubilant look in his face. Similar to Dancing in the Jar, Dancing in the Horse’s Stomach features that a performer bores his way into the horse’s stomach with his lower body remaining outside and then his upper body sticks out of the horse’s mouth. Probably Dancing in the Horse’s Stomach is the rudiment of the acrobatic show called “separating the body”.

India proved to be the largest exporter of magic tricks to China and the magic tricks imported from India were mostly of the excruciating nature such as “severing one’s own feet and hands”,”gouging one’s bowels and stomach”and “playing some musical instrument while lying on the sharp swords”. On the grand cloister at the Sangyuan Temple in Tibet one mural features a performer playing some musical instrument while lying on the sharp swords. To be specific, on a bed-shaped board are set up sharp swords upon which sprawls a girl appearing calm and composed. This show being a combination of the magic trick and Qigong requires the performer to be very proficient in the acrobatic skills. And it can be said that the performers almost lived on the sharp blades.

The religious magic tricks, as important components of the magic art in the Sui and Tang dynasties, were mainly in the command of the religious believers. Among the magic tricks back then the popular ones were Luo Gongyuan’s concealing technique and Ye Fashan’s delivering technique, both won Emperor Tangxuanzong’s raves. And Zhang Guolao and Li Dongbing were also the household names. Zhang Guolao’s story was seen as a legend in that he could return to his youth by magic tricks. The emperor’s recognition of the acrobatics in the Tang dynasty was unrivalled in any other dynasties.